Aeroplane



Feb. 8,1927. 1,617,263

L. MARSCHALL I AEROPLANE Filed Nov. 24. .1925 i 5 Sheets-Shet 1 lNVENTOR JQZJUGM I BY Feb. 8 1927.

MARSCHALL AEROPLANE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 Filed Nov. 24. 1925 xyEssas L. MARSCHALL Feb. 8, 1927.

AEROPLANE Filed Nov. 24 2 5 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Ludw'yManwhwZZ.

. 1,617,263 1927' L. MARSCHALL AEROPLANE Filed Nov 24, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 lNVENTOR ATTORNEYS WITNESSES 52 W LucZu/zyJYa/nm 2 M BY 7 Feb. s, 1927.

| MARSCHALL AEROPLANE Filed Nov. 24 1925 m Li 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 BY I IIIIIIIIlI/Ia ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 8,; v

UNITED STATES I 1,617,263 A- TENT oFFIcE.

LUnwIemARsomLL, or .BRoo LYN; NEW YORK, assreivoa or oivn-rotm'rn mo 4 o'r'ro zammn, or-maw YORK, 11.. Y. t I

AERorLm.

Application fiied November 24,- 1925. Serial No. 71,168.

The present invention is concerned with the provision of an aeroplane soconstructed 'thatit will automatically glide safely to the ground when for any reason the engine stalls or goes dead.

\Vhile the device is suitahlefor embodiment in various types of aeroplanes, I have,

shown a preferred form of the invention as applied to a monoplane. A feature of the invention is the fact that it is not only well suited for incorporation in new planes, but may be readily applied as an attachment to old planes.

In its broader aspects, the invention includes the provision of a supplemental safety wing mounted above the body of the plane,

and under normal conditions disposed in horizontal position. When the aeroplane startstddive at a dangerous angle,'either because of engine trouble or unskillful handling, the safety wing acts automatically to throw the plane into gliding position.

It is an object of the invention toprovide a relatively foolproof automatic mechanism for accomplishing the above noted results, and to provide mechanism of simple, practical construction which will not add materially to the weight of the aeroplane,

and which is extremely unlikely to .get out p of order.

With the above noted and other objects in View, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts. as will be more fully hereinafter set forth and pointed out-in the claims The invention maybe more fully understood from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an'aeroplane embodyingdhe invention.

Fig. 2 is'a view inside elevation thereof.

' Fig. 3 is a fragmentary verticalsectional view on the'line3- 3 of Fig. ,2. i

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through the body of the plane,

one of the housings for the supplemental wing supporting standards being broken awav for clearness. V

Fig. 5 is'a fragmentary top plan view of the sliding section of the supplemental wing.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic fragmentary view partly in section and partly in elevation showing the sliding wing section projecting forwardly as the aeroplane reaches ta] safety wing.

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail of the mechanism for locking the safety wing against movement.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentarv sectional detail showing the guiding and stop means for the sliding section of the supplemental wing.

Fig. .9 is a longitudinal sectional view through the forwarded e ofthe supplemental wing and the sli ing wing section.

' Fig. 10 is a fragmentary top plan view of the cock-pit of the plane. v 4

Fig. 11 is a sectional View. on the line 11 -11 of Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a transverse sectional view on the staggered line 1212 of Fig. 11.-

In the drawings, 10 represents the longitudinally tapered hollow body of the plane, provided at its forward end with the cock-pit 11. The usual lifting wings 12 project laterally from the body adjacent the cock-pit,vand the plane is equipped with the usual vertical steerin runner 13 and horizorital tail pieces 14 including pivoted sections 14. .The forward end of the body .ca'rries suitable landing gear indicated generally'at 15, and an en'ginelfi drives a propeller 17 of the puller type in any conven tional or convenient manner. 1 .The devlce as thus far described is entirely conventional, the present invention being more particularly concerned with the provision of a supplemental horizontal safety wing 18 supported above the body, and actingautomatically to director throw the aeroplane into a gliding angle When the plane dips or dives at a dangerous inclination. Before going into the details of the mechanism for operating the safety wing 18, it may be well to briefly outline the manner in which this wing acts. As best seen in Fig. 6, the wing 18 is pivoted at its intermediate portion on standards 19, and is normally disposed parallel to the lifting wings 12. The wing 18 is formed with a gravitationally slidable extension '20 upon which is pivoted a lifting wing 21. When the aeroplane dips or dives at a dangerous CPI angle, the sliding section 20 of the supplemental wing slides forwardly, and the lifting wing 21 is mechanically elevated to the dotted line position of Fig. 6; Air pressure.

It is to be understood that the mechanism fornormally latching the safety wing against movement, and for releasing said wing, the mechanism for effecting operation of the sliding wing section and the lifting wing 21, and in fact all of the mechanical instrumentalities by which I control the operation of the safety wing. are subject to a wide variety of modifications and variations. Themechanism illustrated is merely intended to show one efficient and practical means forv mechanically controlling the proper functioning of the safety wing.

As best seen in Fig. 3, the wing 18 carries at opposite edges of its intermediate portion, depending brackets 25 fixed tov the ends of rock shafts 26 journalled inthe upper ends of the skeleton brackets 19 which rise from the body of the aeroplane at opposite sides thereof. Fixed on the outer ends of the rock shafts 26 are looking sector plates 27 having notches 28 in their edges.- To look the wing 18 against pivotal movement between the standards, I provide bolts 29 adapted to enter the recesses 28 in the sector plates 27. The bolts 29 are guided for movement in brackets 30 projecting outwardly from the standards 19, and contractile springs 31 act on the bolts and tend to move them to retracted position to effect release of the sector plates. The construction of the locking bolts is best seen in Fig. 7, where in it will be noted thatthe retractile spring is a coiled spring encircling the bolt 29, and disposed between the upper. bracket 30 and a cross pin 32 on the bolt. The lower end of each bolt 39 is formed with an eye 33 adapted to be engaged by the hooked end 34 of a lever 35.

The levers 35 are fixed intermediate their ends on a transverse shaft 36, journalled in suitable bearings 37 in the'standards 19.

The lower ends of the levers 35 are connected by a cross bar 38. Coiled expansion springs 39 backed against lateral extensions 40 of the standards 19, engage the levers 35 near their lower ends and tend to swing them to the unlocking posltion shown in Fig. 6. Se-

enses.

cured to the cross bar 38 is one end of a cable or similar flexible device 41, this cable being led over a pulley 42 carried on a cross rod 4.3 supported between the standards 19 im moving the-levers 35 against the action of their springs 39- causing the hooked ends 34 of the levers to have a camming engage ment with the eyes 33 of the bolts 29, and coilscquently projecting the bolts upwardly into locking relationship with the sector,

plates 27. The manner in which the cable 41 is operated tolock or unlock the safety wing will be 'more fully hereinafter described.

' Referring now to Figs. 4 to 6, '8 and 9, it

will be noted'that the Wing 18 which pivots approximately at its center on the rock shafts 26, is acted upon at opposite sides of its pivot by pairs of restoring springs 45 hooked into eyes 46 on the under surface of the wing, and anchored to the standards 19 as at47. These springs tend to retain the wing 18 in substantial parallelism with the body of the aeroplane at all times, even when the sector plates have been released by the bolts 29.

The wing 18 is of light skeletonformation covered by cloth or other suitable material as is customary in aeroplane construction,

and near its forward edge accommodates a sliding telescoping section 20. As best'seen in Fig. 8, the section QOcarries laterally projecting pins or rollers 48 working in in-' wardly facing guideways or tracks 49 of the wing 18. The studs or rollers 48 engage the ends 50 of the guideways 49 to limit the inward 'or outward telescoping or sliding movement of the wing section 30. Secured upon the top of the sliding section 20 are brackets 51 mounting between them a trans-- verse shaft 52 upon which a lifting wing 21- is pivoted at its rear edge. The lifting wing is rigidly connected to crank arms 54 to which are pivoted operating rods 55 carrying pistons 56 working in cylinders 57 secured to the sliding section 20. Relatively heavy inertia operated members 58, prefer- 'ably in the nature of balls, travel in the cylinders 57. The inclination of the cylinders 57, relative to the wing section 20 is such that under all ordinary conditions the balls will .rest in the bottom of the cylinders,

but when the plane starts to descend at a dangerous angle, s'uch as that shown in Figs.

6 and 9, the balls will gravitationally roll forward, striking the pistons 56 and acting through the operating rods 55 and crank arms 54 to swing the lifting wing. 21 on its pivot, elevating the same tothe position shown in Fig, 9. To normally prevent forward sliding movement of the wing section 20, and pivotal movement of the lifting wing 21. I provide apair of pivoted .levers60, 61. the ends of which are attached to a cable 62 led over suitable pulleys 63 to crank arms 64 carried by the shaft 36. Levers 60, 61

.normally project into the path of the stud -18 and the crank arm 54 respectively and lock the wing section 20 or the lifting wing 21 against. movement. When the shaft 34 is rotated by the action of the levers 35,. the

cable ()2 is pulled to release levers 60, 61

. resents a rearward extension of the propeller shaft upon which I mount a centrifugal --governor 71, this governor including the usual'weighted arms 72 connected to a col- 1:11-73 fixedupon the. shaft 70. i The governor carries a'yoke 74 connected by l nk 7 5 to a lever 76 pivoted in the upper end of a bracket 77 secured to the floor of the cockpit. Therear end of the propeller shaft extension 7 0 is journalled in the upper end of a standard 78 mounted upon the floor of the cock-pit, and said standard carries .at its upper end laterally projecting pins 79 working in slots 80 in the yoke 74, whereby to guide the sliding movement of the yoke and the -governor.- co led expansion spring 81 around thepropeller shaft extension 70, and

backed against thecollar 73 normally urges the yoke rearwardly.

The cable 41, which as above noted, is

trained over the pulley 42 and connected to lever 35, passes downwardly through an opening 83 in the body 10 under a guide pulley 8 4 and is connecteddirectly'to the rear end of the yoke 74.- Thus when the shaft is turnin rapidly enough to hold the governor in a orward position, the'cable 41 is maintained taut and the sector plates 28 and w ng 18 lockedagainst movement.

Also at this time, the levers 60, 61- are held in locking position by their cable 62. Then however, the speed of rotation of the shaft;

70 decreasesto such. a point that the spring 81; is free to push the governor and yoke rearwardly,'thetension/on the cable is relie-v ed and the-springs 39 are free to act, rocking the levers'35, retracting the. bolts 29, and moving ,the levers 60, 61 to unlocking pos'tion. 'Lever 76 is connected byeable 90 'to a crank arm 91 (Fig. 2-), which operates the rear pivoted s'ections14 of the horizon- .a'ltail piecesor rudders 14.

Itwill be noted that the pin 93 which ivotally'connects the yoke'74 to the link 5, is :laterally extended as at 94 into the path. of'alever 95,-which lever carries a spring pressed locking dog 96 ,coacting w'th sctor plate 97. By swinging the lever 95 forwardly to the position shown'in Fig. 13,

and releasing the locking dog, this lever will effectively prevent rearward movement of the yoke 75, by virtue of blocking rearward movement of the pin 94.

The mechanism which I have shown for Steer'ng the vertical rudder 13 forms no part of the present invention. This mechanism may conveniently include cables .100 connected to the rudder post 13 and led through suitable guide pulleys 101 to a steering wheel 102 mountednn a vertical bearing frame 103, said bearing frame straddling theyoke 74. I

\Vhile the operation of the device will be moreor less apparent from the forego'ng description, it may be briefly summarized as follows. v When use of the safety wing is-not of the governor 71 to tension the cable 41',

acting through the mechanism above de- I scribed t.o- 'lock the sector plates 28 against.

movement, and to swing the levers 60, 61" to locking position. At the sametime, through the medium of the lever 76,'the' cable 90 "s tensioned, and the tail pieces 14 held in horizontal position.

This position of all of the parts is maintained in' the course of ordinary fiying,.the plane .being perfectly fre'e to assume a rea-' sonable downward incl nat'ion without .danger of tripping the safety mechanism. When however, 'theengine stalls or goes dead, or slows down to a dangerously low speed, the governor 71 moves 'rearwardly under the influence of its spring 81; conse-.' quently tension on the cable 41 is released, and the wing 18 is unlocked. Simultaneously the levers '60, 61 release the sliding 'wing sect-ion 20 and the pivoted lift'ng wing 21. The normal tendency of the plane with the engine stopped is to plunge downwardly, nose foremost. As the plane starts to dip, the wing section 20 slidesgravitationally forwardly to its fully extended position, and when a dangerous angle has been reached, the balls 58 roll along their cylinders and niechanically lift the wing 21. At this time it will be remembered that the forward porthan the rear portion, and that the only im petus necessary to. cause, ivotal movement of the wing is, that a-fi'or ed by the lifting wing 21. The air rushingjn under the l fting wing, swings the entire safety wing 18 toward, the dotted line position of Fig. 6 and'the air pressure on the entire w'n'g 18 fquickly restores the plane to gliding posi tion; When the wing has been tilted so that its rear edge is below its forward'e lg 'the wing section gravitationally slides back into place, and the lifting wing 21 falls back into, position. The springs act at vall times to restore the safety wing 18 to a position parallel with the body of the plane, and asthe plane is righted or swung to horizonta l position, these springswill win illie above described action will bed-epeated until the plane safely glides to earth, or until the engine picks up. Of course, if the stalled engine can be startedagain, the relatc'hing of the safety wing structure is automatic as previously described.

It is to be noted that the operation of throwing the plane into gliding position is facilitated by the horizontal tail pieces 14, these pieces acting simultaneously with the safety wing to restore the plane. As the safety wing tilts upwardly, the tail pieces incline downwardly and the tail pieces and and alterations as fairly fall within the.

spirit and scope of the appended claims.-

It is to be noted that the casings 19*? for the standards, ofi'er a substantial surface to dive at a dangerous angle,'the operator area. which acts tostabilize and preventlateral sliding or rocking movement of the plane.

, .It .is also to be understoodthat when the plane is in charge .of an unskilled operator, and due to'inefficient manipulation, starts may release the safety wing even while the engine is, running at full speed, by simply pulling the lever 76 rea'rwardlyl I claim- 1. In an aeroplaneincluding an engine, a

supplemental safet wing pivotally mounted above the body 0 the aeroplane and normally held in substantial parallelism therewith, said wing being pivotally mounted intel-mediate its ends and acting automatically to restore the aeroplane to gliding'position when the latter dives at a dangerous angleand the'engine falls below a predetermined speed, and means under manual control of the operator for selectively releasing said wing orv locking said wing against movement independently of the speed of the engme.

2. In an aeroplane, a snlpplemental safety wing pivotally. mounted ove the body of the aeroplane and normally held in sub-.

stantial parallelism therewith, said wing restore the including a. forwardly slidable extension adapted to be gravitationally projected forwardly when the aeroplane dives at a. dangerous angle, and means under control of the aeroplane engine normally locking'said extension against gravitational forward sliding movement. g

In an aeroplane, a supplemental safety wing pivotally mounted above the body of the aeroplane and normally held .-in 'sub-- stantial parallelism therewith, said Wing including a forwardly slidable extension adapted to be gravitationally projected forwardly when the aeroplane dives at a (lan- .gerous angle, and a pivoted lifting wing mounted in said extension. v

4. In an aeroplane, a supplemental safety wing pivotally mounted above the body of the aeroplane and normally held in substantial parallelism therewith, said wing including adapted to be gravitationally projectedfo'rwardly when the aeroplane dives at a dangerous angle, and a pivoted lifting wing mounted in said extension, and mechanical a forwardly slidable extension means for initiating movement of the lifting I wing.

5. In an aeroplane, a supplemental safety wing, standards pivotally supporting said wing betweenits ends above the body of the aeroplane and springs acting on opposite sides of the pivotal 'axis of. the wing to normally retain said wing in substantial parallelism with the*body,'sector plates carried by the wing and bolts engaging the sector plates to prevent movement of the wing, and means under control of the engine for retracting the bolts and permitting the safetv wing to function. y

6. 11 an aeroplane, a supplemental safety wing pivoted intermediate its ends above the body of the plane, and normally maintained in substantial parallelism with said body, a gravitationally operable forwardly slidable .extension associated with said wing, a lifting wing mounted on' said extension, means under control of the engine of the aeroplane for locking the safety wing against movement."

7. In an aeroplane, a supplemental safety wing pivoted intermediate its ends above the body of the plane and normally maintained in substantially parallelism with said body, a gravitationally operable forwardly slidable extension associated 'with said wing, a lifting wing mounted on said extension, means under control of the engine of the aeroplane for locking the sliding section against movement.

8. In an aeroplane, a supplemental safety wing pivoted intermediate its ends above thebody of the plane, and normally maintained in substantial parallelism with saidbody, a

gravitationally operable forwardly slidable."

extension associated with said wing, a lifting wing mounted on said extension, means under control of the engine of the aeroplane for locking the lifting wing against movement.

9. In an aeroplane, a supplemental safety wing pivoted intermediate its ends above the body of the plane, and normally maintained in substantial parallelism v with said body, a gravitationally operable forwardly slidable extension associated with said wing, a lifting wing mounted on said extension, means under control of the engine of the aeroplane for locking the safety wing against movement and locking tlie'sliding section against movement.

10. In an aeroplane, a supplemental safety wing pivoted intermediate its ends above the body of the plane and normally maintained in substantial parallelism withsaid body, a gravitationally operable forwardly slidable extension associated with said wing, a lifting wing mounted on said extension, means under control of the engine of the aeroplane for locking the safety wing against movement, and locking the lifting wing against movement.

11. In an aeroplane, a supplemental safety wing pivoted intermediate its ends above the body of the plane and normally maintained in substantial parallelism with said body, a gravitationally operable forwardly slidable extension associated with said wing, a lifting wing mounted on said extension, means under controlof the engine of the aeroplane for locking the sliding section against movement, and locking the lifting wing against movement. 7

12. In an aeroplane, a supplemental safety wing pivoted intermediate its ends above the body of the plane and normally maintained in substantial parallelism with said body, a gravitationally operable forwardly slidable extension associated with said Wing, a lifting wing mounted on said extension, means under control of the engine of the aeroplane for locking the safety wing against movement, locking the sliding section against movement, and locking the lifting wing against movement.

13. In an aeroplane, a supplemental safety wing pivotally mounted above and in substantial parallelism with the body of the aeroplane, a gravitationally operable for-,

wardly slidable wing extension guided for movement in said wing, a lifting wing pivoted on the extension, crank arms connected to the lifting wing and gravity operated inertia members guided for rolling movement in the sliding section and adapted to act on said crank arms and initiate lifting movement of the lifting wing.

14. In an aeroplane, a body, standards rising from the body, a supplemental safety wing pivotally mounted upon the standards, and housings for the standards offering relatively wide lateral surface areas to stabilize the aeroplane and prevent lateral sliding thereof.

LUD W 1G MARSCHALL. 

